Van Basten presents preliminary list for World Cup

By not Brenz
April 22 2006

Holland manager Marco Van Basten has released a list of 33 players of which 23 will make the World Cup squad in the final list to be presented on 15 May. These players will travel to Noordwijk to take part in the preparation for the Cup on 9 May.

The list is:

Goalkeepers:
Edwin Van der Sar (Manchester United), Henk Timmer (AZ), Patrick Lodewijks (Feyenoord) and Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax)

Defenders:
Khalid Boulahrouz (Hamburger SV), Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa), Giovanny Van Bronckhorst (Barcelona), Tim De Cler (AZ), Urby Emanuelson (Ajax), Kew Jaliens (AZ). Jan Krompkamp (Liverpool), Joris Mathijsen (AZ), Andre Ooijer (PSV), Barry Opdam (AZ) and Ron Vlaar (AZ)

Midfielders:
George Boateng (Middlesbrough), Mark Van Bommel (Barcelona), Phillip Cocu (PSV), Edgar Davids (Tottenham Hotspurs), Nigel De Jong (Hamburger SV), Denny Landzaat (AZ), Hedwiges Maduro (Ajax), Wesley Sneijder (Ajax) and Rafael Van der Vaart (Hamburger SV)

Forwards:
Ryan Babel (Ajax), Romero Castelen (Feyenoord), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Ajax), Dirk Kuijt (Feyenoord), Martijn Meerdink (AZ), Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Manchester United), Robin Van Persie (Arsenal), Arjen Robber (Chelsea) and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (PSV)

The great surprise is that Roy Makaay and Clarence Seedorf do not appear in that list. While the Milan midfielder hasn’t been used much by Van Basten, Makaay did play for the national team more often. Having been injured lately and losing his place in the lineup of Bayern Munich were not helped by the fact that Huntelaar had a marvelous season for both AZ and Ajax, and as a result, the young striker was called up.

After knowing he was not called up, Makaay stated:

“Logically, I’m disappointed, but there are still four more weeks to go, a lot can happen.”